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Virasat

Video of Dr. Kiran Seth talks about SPICMACAY

Virasat is one of the main cultural festivals of SPIC MACAY, comprising an eclectic mixture of all aspects of Indian Cultural Heritage. Virasat, literally meaning heritage in Hindi, was launched for the first time in Dehradun in 1995 and is held annually during the first half of the academic year. Educational institutions across the country and abroad, celebrate this annual affair. Currently, there are over (number of events in a year) events being conducted under the Virasat banner. The events showcase a wide variety of Indian culture, beginning from the folk and classical dance and music forms, to cinema screenings, heritage walks, handicraft workshops, theatre programmes etc.

Virasat gives an excellent opportunity to the students of numerous schools and colleges to attend get a taste of their own culture, from the very best in their field. Virasat does not only afford a mere viewership, but provides an interactive interface between the master of the art and the students, whose curiosity may be engaged in the process. Thus, Virasat goes towards fulfilling the aim of interspersing a cultural and aesthetic experience with the mainstream educational curriculum. True to the name of SPIC MACAY and its aims, Virasat is organized by the students and for the students, albeit aided by their teachers and mentors. Involvement with the processes of organizing Virasat at their educational institutions will help the students to develop life-skills that would come handy in their lives. Active involvement with art forms, as rich as those portrayed through Virasat, would inevitably leave a mark on the impressionable minds, and create a hope for the declining state of our ancient art forms. Virasat’s aim is to touch every child in the country and make him/her an active participant in the conserver, preserver and experiencer of the cultural heritage that India is so proud of.